Becoming addicted to collecting coins

Westie983

Hi all,

I have been reading a lot of diaries recently, subscribed to a rare few that tickled my fancy or I had a connection with.

Thought I would start my own diary.

So a bit about me I'm a 31-year-old working part time in a bank decided to use 2015 to pay off numerous debts. One of these challenges was to save £1 pound and £2 pound coins and use a old bank account to transfer order amounts from my bank account each week.

My debts have built up since I have been off on long-term sick after a hip replacement last May. I returned to work last month and therefore trying to get my feet back on firm ground.

I have three credit card debts equally £5000 overdraft on my bank account £2000, not a lot of debt in comparison but still a lot on my part time wage.

Hopefully 2015 will bring me pain free from hip problems and at least one or two credit card debts paid off.

Hoping to save towards these debts by saving those loose coins, as they all add up, working in a bank allows me access to coins to swop for notes....

Happy reading...

liltdiddylilt

Hello,

I found you! Sorry it took a while, has been a bit mad as you know.

I am jealous of you working in a bank all those £2 coins!

I didn't realise you had gone back to work. How are you coping? I have no idea how I would cope going back if I had a long time off. I went in for 3-4 days a month even on my maternity leave. I tend to get very stressed at going back if I have been away too long. I've even quit in the past after 6 months sick leave in a job years ago when I dislocated my shoulder and collar bone and trapped a nerve/the sinovial sac in my AC joint. With that in mind I feel your pain, and especially hip pain. Feels like mine is going to explode although the problem is really my back.

Can see why you were drawn to my diary. I don't like talking about ^ back etc... mainly because it gets me down so I stay up

Good luck in your debt paying off. And thank you again for your donation! xx

hummingbird

All the best with your coin collecting! I love to do it too so will check in from time to time!

Hummingbird x

Westie983

Welcome Lilty and thanks for taking the time to seek me out,

Dont worry I don't plan to use this diary to moan about pain, but I'm sure I will just to get some sympathy where I wouldn't get it from my physical family always head to the virtual ones instead....

I have started a new month, reset my YNAB completely and rearranged my categories to see if that helps my brain to work it out any differently

I have not only become quite addicted to collecting coins I have become a little bit of a card tart - now those who don't work in finance (or listen to Martin Lewis) will think this maybe a derogatory term but this means that I collect either credit cards for my own personal gain (Balance transfers/0% deals) or a new one is collecting current accounts and gaining from incentives....

Now working in a bank has helped me to see the offers that are about and I do find that my credit history is quite good when I put I work at a bank in my applications, but I feel there has to be an end to this at some point and I have reached my limit for the moment as I have as follows

Nationwiddle Flex
Nationwiddle Direct
Halifox Reward x2
Halifox Utimate
Clydesdoodle Direct
Smilliee
Santandrival 123
TeeSBee Direct
Marks Sparks
Tescoooo
HSBSEA

all of which have at some point given me an incentive or give me high rate of interest or have a special interest rate for savings products so I will keep my number of current accounts to a round 12!!!!

mmmm I think I should focus of the lovely shiny coins instead...

This month I have paid of my OD so I save £16 in OD charges but this means I will get less interest in my savings accounts but its a lovely feeling seeing a positive balance in my online app, I still have access to the OD if I ever need it, which I may need to when a old 0% Student overdraft expires in June this year....

I will work on that one nearer the time....

Not sure what else to say at the moment but its all early doors for the month of march so lets see how the month pans out

Westie983

chevalier

Good luck on your journey. I take it that you don't have balances on all those cards? Would it therefore make sense to close some of them? Or are you going to transfer balances between them
chev

Westie983

Some of them don't have low £1 balances I took them out to get the incentives, I won't close them just yet as I'll use them as donor accounts for any more incentives... Actually two of them have been switched already so will be closed in due course, but yes I run the same 1k amount through them all by faster payment to qualify the various T&Cs of the accounts which most of them are fund each month and pay out two DD, but a few accounts were opened just to get the incentives them not being used...

I am now looking at the regular savings game, looks like I can get 6%...

Westie983

A few more pennies potted, while on my day off from work, loving the lazy days, which makes things easier after being quite active yesterday cleaning, hoovering just takes so much effort and I suffer the next day - but my carpets now look beige again.

I have managed to not only pot some pennies to my challenges I have managed to get a discount on my broadband account, some more interest on my ISA account, put a claim in for missing cash back with Co of Quid and CashbackTop, which hopefully will pay out soon.

as one of those supermarkets say every penny counts :-)

liltdiddylilt

Yikes, I thought my Current Accounts were bad with 5! Mine all have cash in, most of them is savings taking advantage of the best rates. I do the same with my wages through each of them at the start of the month as long as it is working for you and you can keep track of it then keep at it although I think you are right to stop now at least for awhile! All those searches on mine have taken its toll but I don't need any more.

Yay for all of your proactive penny hunting today. Every little does help

Westie983

Yes most of them have money in to gain from the interest rates as a non tax payer I get better interest using current accounts then ISAs, I think just smilie and Marks Sparks are closing as they were donor accounts after I got the incentives from them both £150 and £100 respectively. So no need for them now as they have been switched they will close, I will also close the nationwiddle ones when they stop paying interest in a years time...

I have just seen another offer though HsBSea which I have taken up which will give me an extra 120 for not much work so hopefully that will make it into my collection...

I started of the day very MSE did my housework and washing haven't even bothered to get out of PJS I love those days, but it's ended with me buying a new terramundi pot as I only have one and i think they look great and bigger incentive not the take the coins back out,

ATM I am saving £1 coins in my existing terrmundi pot and £2 coins in a old biscuit tin so now at least when it arrives it will look good on my TV unit with the other one -

I have managed to tell YNAB about it but still not quite clicked with me, may subscribe to the credit card tutorial to see if it clicks any more - as I have a pre YNAB credit card figure and I am still spending on the card so the balance is going up also bit of a pickle to work out how to balance the two sides...

Westie983

Quiet day for me today - afternoon at work, managed to obtain £6 worth of picture £2 mainly trinity house which have been selling on eBay for up to six times its value so swooped some notes for the coins,

Home via petrol station cash back card used so no coins to save but will be rewarded next month with 3% cash back...

Hope to have a more productive Thursday....

liltdiddylilt

Debt seems to work easily for me. I have a balance on my credit card where I use it to pay for things and then it pays off automatically by DD on the 5th of the month. Oooh TODAY!! :j but I don't have a long standing balance so could see why you would get confused especially if adding to it. I think you just have to remember to add everything as normal and then make *transfer* payments to pay off some of the balance each time.

I confused the crap out of it when I had a £3.52 credit on the card by accident when I first used it. I ended up zeroing the balance and then just took £3.52 off my next purchase on it :rotfl:

Hope you're ok!